Archive for the 'Billy Hunter' Tag Under 'Lakers' Category

The feud between Derek Fisher and NBPA executive director Billy Hunter and the eight-member committee has become headlines just about everywhere. On Saturday, the subject came up at the Lakers practice facility.

The union reportedly has lost faith in Fisher as union president and gave him a vote of no confidence after Fisher failed to explain on a scheduled conference call his stance for an independent auditor to examine Hunter's business and financial practices. The committee includes Maurice Evans, Clippers guard Chris Paul, San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner, Boston Celtics guard Keyon Dooling, Roger Mason Jr., Etan Thomas and Theo Ratliff.

Fisher rejected the vote of no-confidence and has refused to step down.

Despite two days of public feuding, some players still are not aware of all the details.

First FIsher helps guide the NBA Players Association through the lockout, traveling to New York for marathon meetings several times during the summer and fall, then the Lakers trade the veteran guard to Houston. Fisher eventually landed in Oklahoma City.

Now, after all the time and effort he put into settling a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the NBPA executive director wants Fisher out. Billy Hunter is actively seeking Fisher's ouster as president, according to Yahoo! Sports. Fisher, who refused to step down, responded by gathering a coalition of players to challenge Hunter's business and financial practice.

According to Yahoo sources, Fisher has told peers he will not resign, but rather fight Hunter for further transparency regarding the NBPA.

But the players will be asking NBA commissioner David Stern to break from his vow not to negotiate his most recent offer before the 2 p.m. Wednesday deadline he put out there, hoping to get a few concessions on the system from the owners and then making a deal.

There was a sense of optimism emanating from Fisher and Billy Hunter, leaders of the union, as they spoke to reporters (televised on NBA TV) Tuesday in New York after rejecting the owners' offer in a meeting with the respective team player reps. Perhaps they sense a deal is out there, too, after they basically gave in on the money. But by not wilting in the face of Stern's ultimatum, the players do get to save face that they didn't surrender.

We shall see if Stern lets them keep their face and can get his hard-line owners to change some of the system terms that the owners believe cannot be allowed to be too favorable to spending teams such as the Lakers.

Union executive director Billy Hunter said in a news conference in New York televised by NBA TV that the owners refused to negotiate further unless the players agreed to a 50 percent portion of the league's revenue when the union had wanted 53. Hunter blamed the NBA's smaller-market owners, citing Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert repeatedly, for not being willing to continue talks openly.

Hunter named Lakers owner Jerry Buss first in a list with the Knicks' James Dolan, the Heat's Micky Arison and the Mavericks' Mark Cuban as "the folks who wanted a deal and were open."